Happy Birthday, Abie Baby!

I mean no disrespect to this country's beloved 16th President of the United States. But I'm a member of the Tribe of HAIR! - anyone who's performed in the musical is considered an honorary tribal member. And everything in the world can be explained by going back to the musical, HAIR! (That's another blog post.) Anyway the song from the HAIR! soundtrack, "Abie Baby", popped into my head today.

The life mask upon which the image above was based was created just two months before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Here are the words:

Yes, I's finished on y'all farm land with yo' boll weevils and all,
and pluckin' y'all's chickens, fryin' mother's oats in grease. I's
free now, thanks to yo', Massa Lincoln, emancipator of the slaves.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, emanci-mother-fuckin-pator of the slaves.

Four score
I said four score and seven years ago
Oh sock it to 'em baby, you're sounding better all the time!
Our forefathers, I mean all our forefathers
Brought forth upon this here continent a new nation
Concieved, conceived like we all was In liberty, and dedicated to the one I love
I mean dedicated to the proposition
That all men, honey, I tell you all men
Are created equal

Happy birthday, Abie baby, Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, Abie baby,
Happy birthday to you
Bang! Bang? Ha ha. Shit, I'm not dying for no white man.
(Tell it like it is, baby.)

Now here's what's taking place on stage during HAIR! that leads up to the song, "Abie Baby": Actors dance a minuet until three African witch doctors kill them—all except for Abraham Lincoln who says, "I'm one of you". Lincoln, after the three Africans sing his praises, recites an alternate version of the Gettysburg Address ("Abie Baby"). Booth shoots Lincoln, but Lincoln says to him, "I ain't dying for no white man".

I wasn't on stage during that scene so I can't even offer my insight from being in the show. I'm not really sure what Gerome Ragni and James Rado were trying to say here. Were the characters really praising Lincoln for freeing the slaves? Or were they mocking Lincoln? Or his Emancipation Proclamation? Was Lincoln poking fun at his own words?

I also thought of this song because of all the attention President Obama has been paying President Lincoln - using the same Bible Lincoln used for his inauguration, talking about what a great American Lincoln was for the advancement of black people, etc.

So, with all due respect to President Lincoln, "Happy Birthday, Abie Baby."